Racing heart...is this just a stamina thing?

I'm confused by my body! When I try to tackle long steep hills, my heart starts to race so fast that I eventually end up dizzy and have to stop dead in my tracks to rest. I feel like my legs could keep going no problem. No kidding...my legs feel great. But my breathing and heart rate seem to suddenly go through the roof. I don't have a heart rate monitor (and I don't really want one because I think I'd be obsessed with watching it). I try to relax on hills and I'm in my granny gear so I'm really not mashing.

If I'm riding flats or rollers, I can easily ride without stopping to rest. But high intensity...another story. I can only last about 5 minutes. It doesn't seem logical to me that I could do a 40 mile flat/rollers bike ride, mow the lawn (and I have a lot of lawn), go on a 4 mile walk, plus other activities in the same day and be fine. But if the only thing I do in a whole day is jump on the bike and head up one steep hill, I have to stop after 5 minutes. Is this like a strength versus aerobic fitness thing? Maybe it's that I am strong, but I have no aerobic capacity...is that what's going on? One other thing to mention...I have a very minor heart murmur and if I squat down, I usually get VERY dizzy when I stand up. I told my Dr. about that and all he said was to stand up more slowly. I don't have any blood pressure issues or other health problems.

I'm going to try to ride slower on hills, but other than that, I don't know what to do. I guess just keep riding hills and this will improve? I think I'm having one of those days when I'm just super frustrated with myself and I don't want to be a newbie anymore!

How long have you been riding? And if you are new, have you done any aerobic activities in the past? I came from a completely sedentary life and had no aerobic capacity when I first started riding a year ago. It took me a long time to get to the point where I could work out with running out of breath. (I ended up with a diagnosis of exercised induced asthma but it doesn't sound like that's your problem.) So - if you ARE new to riding, maybe you just need to slowly build up your capacity. Let's see what the better informed ladies have to say.

There are many more knowledgeable folks on this forum than me, and of course, it's hard not to recommend a complete physical, etc.

But, I know that a couple/few years ago when I started riding, I got so that I could ride the flatter stuff, and also do 3-4 hour work shifts doing physical labor, and yet, there were hills I really thought I would never be able to ride up without my HR going to maximum.

I used to laugh when I would read about doing muscle tension workouts on hills to strengthen my legs...they recommended low cadence and low heart rate...just muscular workouts. I would already be at 50 rpm, peddling uphill slowly, and my HR would STILL be totally maxed out.

But, this past weekend, I rode a section of road that used to do that to me, and this weekend, not only did I ride that 5 mile hill happily, with a decent HR, but I kept on going and did another 14 miles of the same climbing...all with a HR no more than about 85% of maximum, and sometimes lower.

Sorry this got long...hope it gives you some hope, if not hard information.

It probably is just a matter of increasing your stamina but I do have to warn you, don't completely stop to rest. All the blood that was out pumping those legs, arms and heart will have nowhere to go it you stopped completely, it will return to your brain bringing with it all that oxygen and you will get dizzy and possibly faint. If you must get off the bike, at least walk with it.

OK, I already feel better knowing that other people have hearts like mine :p

Kelownagirl - yes, I am very new to cycling and prior to that, my main activity was walking about 3-5 miles 5 days a week. I tried running but I also have mild exercise induced asthma and between that and shin splints, running just does not agree with me. Unless it's very cold out, cycling doesn't seem to bring on the asthma (thank heavens).

Starfish - if you can ride up to Hurricane Ridge after just a few years of cycling, then I have hope!

And Zencentury - thanks for that tip! I do not want to pass out. Especially in traffic!!!

So I guess what I need to do is just ride more hills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by sara

Starfish - if you can ride up to Hurricane Ridge after just a few years of cycling, then I have hope!

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Five years ago, it was a total victory when I made it a whole 10 miles on a pancake flat, paved bicycle path.

Two years ago, it was a victory when I road as far as the park entry gate up the Ridge Road.

This year, I hope to make it up to the Ridge twice in one day to train for a ride I'm doing later in August.

My progression hasn't been very fast...I tend to get fat and out of shape every winter, and it has been a time of stressful transition in my personal life, for a few years, actually. But, if you keep reading TE, and even search some older threads on the topic, you'll find incredible stories of before/after cyclists that are inspiring!

Be patient with yourself, and seek out good advice from the more knowledgeable folks on TE, from books, etc. You will surprise yourself with your progress. You can do it!

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Originally Posted by Starfish

Be patient with yourself, and seek out good advice from the more knowledgeable folks on TE, from books, etc. You will surprise yourself with your progress. You can do it!

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Thanks for the encouragement! It's hard to be patient! I guess I should look at cycling kind of like when I was a kid taking piano lessons. It took years to get better. You can't just sit down at a piano and learn it all in one day. I think these types of long-term learning situations are easier when you're a kid though! :rolleyes:

My heart must be treating this as a long-term learning process as well. Evidently you can't expect your heart to suddenly be ready for aerobic activity if you really haven't been doing any! I guess another way to look at it would be I'm very glad my heart is working so hard as opposed to just stopping!

Starfish - that's me exactly.

Sara -

Have you had a stress test done on your heart yet? Perhaps you should rule out any medical reasons for the racing heart before you push yourself any further. Better safe than sorry, right?

I recently had some chest tightness with some pain, went to the heart doc and had a stress test done. He found nothing seriously wrong with my heart (called me the "champion of the treadmill"), so I thought perhaps the tightness was due to do bad air and my athlete's asthma, etc. A visit to the lung doc confirmed what I suspected, but I wasn't taking any chances, so I had it all checked out. Heart conditions are nothing to take lightly.

As far as the fitness, each one of us had to start at the bottom to get where we are now. We've all been out of shape at one point or another. So we definitely understand how hard it is to be patient with your training. You'll get there. :)

Take care,
~BikeMomma

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Originally Posted by sara

I'm confused by my body! When I try to tackle long steep hills, my heart starts to race so fast that I eventually end up dizzy and have to stop dead in my tracks to rest. I feel like my legs could keep going no problem. No kidding...my legs feel great. But my breathing and heart rate seem to suddenly go through the roof. I don't have a heart rate monitor (and I don't really want one because I think I'd be obsessed with watching it). I try to relax on hills and I'm in my granny gear so I'm really not mashing.

If I'm riding flats or rollers, I can easily ride without stopping to rest. But high intensity...another story. I can only last about 5 minutes. It doesn't seem logical to me that I could do a 40 mile flat/rollers bike ride, mow the lawn (and I have a lot of lawn), go on a 4 mile walk, plus other activities in the same day and be fine. But if the only thing I do in a whole day is jump on the bike and head up one steep hill, I have to stop after 5 minutes. Is this like a strength versus aerobic fitness thing? Maybe it's that I am strong, but I have no aerobic capacity...is that what's going on? One other thing to mention...I have a very minor heart murmur and if I squat down, I usually get VERY dizzy when I stand up. I told my Dr. about that and all he said was to stand up more slowly. I don't have any blood pressure issues or other health problems.

I'm going to try to ride slower on hills, but other than that, I don't know what to do. I guess just keep riding hills and this will improve? I think I'm having one of those days when I'm just super frustrated with myself and I don't want to be a newbie anymore!

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If you're getting dizzy when this happens, it might be a good idea to get it checked out. As far as the heart rate going way up when climbing hills, mine does too; I've always tended to have high heart rates when exercising. Sometimes it goes over 200 bpm (max seems to be 211); this can happen on the bike or running. It has gotten a bit better as I've gotten into better shape, so yours likely will too. I think I've also gotten used to it going sky-high and can keep going longer when this happens. Don't get discouraged--you'll get stronger!

Hey there sara,
I'm not a medical expert or sports expert but this is what I've experienced:
I've been a competitive athlete all of my life, so when I stopped rowing and started riding, I wanted to compete. But I knew I had to build base miles and those base miles took some time to accomplish. My body needed time to change, including my heart. Even though I was in great shape, riding hills were just down right tough for me, my heart rate would spike and my lungs would burn. I just needed hill work. I think the same applies. You haven't done this a lot, in fact, you just started, so your body needs some time and mileage to adjust to the new routine. After you get some mileage under your seat, you'll find that certain hills will get easier without the spiking heart rate and you'll get faser too. As for the heart murmur and asthma, I am fortunate not to experience either but make sure you talk to your doc about your activities and how they might affect those conditions.
Don't back down, just keep riding and ride at a level that you know works for you. You'll get there:D

What everyone forgets is that the heart is a muscle too (got told this when my hubby had a heart attack 3 years ago from the medical staff) so just like your legs, it takes time to build up it's strength. I got the heart racing like it would explode thing when I first started cycling late last year. I've been riding regularly (commuting to work - and it's uphill all the way back) and gradually I've been getting better. It was quite hard work today because there was a fairly strong headwind - enough to make me consider getting off the bike and walking. I made it up the hill a bit slower than usual. Normally it takes me 17 minutes to get home now. Today it took 19 because of the wind. I was a bit out of breath when I came home (I'm an asthmatic too but stopped all medication about 18 months ago myself). Everything came back to normal within about 5 minutes.

For the record, since I started cycling my asthma has all but gone and I breathe much more deeply now so my lungs are strengthening too even though I still smoke.

Keep at it. Things will get better:D